Advertising for Prime Day 2018: 4 Tips to Make the Most Out of This Amazon Holiday

‘Tis the season! It’s time for Amazon merchants to get in the spirit of Prime Day 2018 as the doors open for applications this month. Accessible only to Amazon Prime customers, this shopping day rivals Black Friday in the both the number of deals and potential profits. Amazon vendors need to step up their advertising to get the word out early — for Prime Day comes but once a year!

Sellers can improve their Prime Day advertising in a few different ways. Take a look at the four tips below to see which ones work best for you.

1. Lightning Deals & Prime Day 2018

Running Lightning Deals around Prime Day can help you get more marketplace exposure and conversions. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, Lightning Deals are short-term promotions offering a limited number of discounts. It’s first come, first serve, and the deals aren’t there for long, hence the name.

On Prime Day, Lightning Deals behave a little differently. For one thing, they’re only available to Prime members, as with all other Prime Day deals. But more importantly, Lightning Deals are featured on the Prime Day page of deals. That’s extra exposure in a heavy-traffic location on a significant sales day. Nothing to scoff at!

There are some drawbacks, though. Sellers and items must meet the following criteria:

Only Prime sellers are eligible (FBA or Seller Fulfilled Prime).

Items musthave more than 20 units in stock.

Items must have a rating over 3.5.

Sale prices must be over $5.

Item conditions must be New.

Item photos must be high-quality.

Discounts must be 20% or higher from the average price over the last 90 days.

On top of that, expect an increase in the cost of running a Lightning Deal in the days surrounding Prime Day. Still, if these conditions don’t deter you, Lightning Deals during Prime Day are a great way to earn exposure, unload inventory and improve your selling rating. You can submit Lightning Deals for Prime Day from April 16 to May 18, 2018.

2. Adapting Bids

Almost every aspect of Amazon changes on Prime Day, and that includes Sponsored Products ads. For starters, ad impression views increase between 50-100% on Prime Day compared against the day before, according to Amazon Marketing Services. That means your ads are more potent and enjoy more views.

But don’t think that goes unnoticed by your rival vendors. Bidding is more competitive during Prime Day, so be prepared to increase your bids if you want to take advantage of the extra exposure. This involves raising your budget, so don’t forget to re-adjust your spending on the days surrounding Prime Day (and then return it to normal once it’s finished).

Another approach is turning on Bid+ to increase the chances of your ad landing in the coveted top spot. With Bid+, Amazon can increase your keyword bid by up to 50% on ads.

3. Plan Ahead

If you’re reading this article, the time to start campaigning for Prime Day is now. You want to start drawing attention to your main Prime Day products early so customers remember them on the day itself.

Part of this is analyzing your previous advertising data. Which of your targeted keywords were most effective in the last few months? Which produced underwhelming results? As previously mentioned, your advertising budget is going to be pushed to its limits on Prime Day, so you want to maximize the effect of every dollar. If you have particular campaigns that are doing well, increase their budget to improve their results exponentially.

Planning ahead also incorporates utilizing all your other advertising and marketing campaigns. For example, once you determine your key Prime Day products, you can start promoting them early on social media to create a buzz.

Hinting at your Prime Day discounts early also attracts more customers and gets them excited. If you know your sales prices already, mention them to give your customers time to comparison shop beforehand. Then they’ll be fully prepared to purchase as soon as your Prime Day deals start.

Take advantage of every avenue available to you to get the word out about your deals: social media, email newsletters, traditional advertisements or even print flyers if that’s what works for you.

4. Target Gratifying Products

Amazon Prime members use Amazon to take care of all their shopping needs, from necessities to luxuries. However, once again Prime Day disrupts normal behaviors.

On Prime Day, customers tend to shop more for products they want instead of need. That means fun or whimsical products sell better than utilitarian products. That should make a huge difference in which products you choose to spend your ad budget on, considering advertising costs spike across the board.

In particular, shoppers tend to buy items on their Wishlist. If you can isolate which of your products are the most desired, you can promote those more. Consider which of your products are “fun” to buy — the kind that are harder to justify paying money for unless they’re discounted.

Spend More, Sell More

Prime Day really encompasses the idea of spending money to make money. The increase in traffic and advertising bidding means you should be advertising more products, and bidding higher on each. It’s highly recommended to increase your advertising budgets for the days surrounding Prime Day. Why? Because the results are greater. Prime Day is a once-a-year time to attract and net new customers, and if you coordinate your strategies right, you’ll make back the extra cash you spent in the long run.

Matt Ellis is a freelance online content creator, specializing in eCommerce, content marketing, branding and web design. For over a decade he’s been sharing his industry knowledge through eBooks, website copy and blog posts. You can learn more about his work here.

This post is accurate as of the date of publication. Some features and information may have changed due to product updates or Amazon policy changes.